Day 5, Poas Volcano, Masks, and Salsa Party

Written by Julia Rippel
Edited by Mr. Moreland

I haven´t had much time to post, but I´ve been having a lot of fun so far. Today we went to the Poas volcano and talked with a geologist named Rodolfo Van der Laat.

It was a long drive up to the volcano, but I kept myself busy by taking pictures and filming the scenery. We drove through a ton of coffee plantations which later gave way to milk farms (many of which were associated with Dos Pinos).

When we finally arrived, we hiked uphill through the cloud forest. It was really amazing, because we saw so many plants and trees that were totally different from the ones in the forests of Pennsylvania. One example was the poor man´s umbrella (the layman´s term for the plant), which had enormous leaves.

We saw two craters, which had both filled with water and become lakes. There was steam coming off of the first one, and there wasn´t any greenery on the rocky slopes all around it. You could also smell the sulfur. The second one was larger, and there was a lot of greenery on the surrounding slopes.

Talking with Rodolfo Van der Laat was really interesting, because you could tell he really enjoyed his job. He showed us where the ground on the overlook physically bulges when there´s an eruption coming. Also, while we were sitting and interviewing him, several small, green and black birds came right up to our feet. (I guess they were really used to people).

Later we talked to a man who makes traditional masks. He showed us his workshop and told us the process behind making the masks. He talked about his life in general as well and how he began to make masks. Some of the masks had full bodies to go with them, and he explained how these are used in parades during local festivals. He showed us how they dance during the parades, and let some of the students and teachers try them on and dance too. He also let three students sculpt some clay into the base for the masks.

That night, we had a dance party with our pen pals at the high school here in Costa Rica. Although conversation was kind of halting, it did occur. We dragged some of the Costa Rican boys onto the dance floor, and some of them helped us with our salsa moves. I was happy to practice the salsa, and I kind of learned the meringue from Matt, our guide. All in all, I had a lot of fun today.

This is Day 3 I think?

Written By DJ DAUGHTRY
All the days are melting together. It feels like we just got here, but it also feels like we´ve been here forever. Wow this is amazing I´m so glad I came. Some struggles I thought I would have I didn´t like:

• The food (just kidding I knew i would be good with the food)
• The people...That was serious. The first day I was really tired and really annoyed with the other participants. It was awkward but after that first night I felt alot better
• The Fresco´s (Natural Fruit Drinks) I´m am not too parcital too but they are still good

Today we are going to La Carpio. It´s our first work work day. Yesterday we met with our Pen Pals and just other kids. I met two guys Arthur and Jared and they were just like twins of Me and Toor. I´m loving everything so far. I love the beans and rice. All in all I love the trip thank you too all who helped me come here. Stay updated with my Blog and you too can follow my adventure!

But I have to go it´s breakfast.

Edited by Mr. Moreland

Our second day here!

By: Alec Cepek, student
Edited by Mr. Moreland

Today was pretty awesome. The food is great and so are the people. We met our friends from the high school. They are just like us. (The reason I am typing so weird is because the keyboard here is laid out differently.) Nacho and Adrian are both my new best friends! I am excited for tomorrow and also for the rain forest!

Day 2 in Costa Rica

Written by Robert Murphy, student
Edited by Mr.Moreland

Today was day 2 in Costa Rica. We woke up early around 6:30, and for breakfast we had rice, beans, 3 balls of skinned potatoes and eggs and toast. It was all quite good.

Then we headed off to Dos Pinos, which is a dairy cooperative (owned by 1400 owners like stockholders in the U.S. but they actually get a say in what the company does). We went on a tour of one of the buildings where they make some of their products such as butter, milk, yogurt and ice cream to name a few. We interviewed a Dos Pinos representative who is trying to expand their business outside of the Costa Rica. Then after the interview they gave us free ice cream in a cone that they make at their plant. They also let us try a new product that they are trying to get sold in stores in Costa Rica. It was like Dibs ice cream but with more ice cream in them and more of a dark chocolate on the outside (they were a bit frozen so had to let them melt a little before being able to eat them all the way).

After Dos Pinos we went to exchange money and the rate for exchanging money is $1 u.s. dollar equals 498 colones (named after Columbus). Then we went to lunch where I had a casado de pollo(chicken platter) consisting of a small salad, breaded chicken, white rice, black beans and a dried cole slaw. Very good food for lunch, good portion too. For a drink I had a watermelon fruit drink that was really good and tasted like watermelon and was fresh.(I would definitely get another one if I have the chance).

After lunch we went to the Costa Rican high school where we met foreign students that were taking english classes in the last year of high school. This was one of more difficult things for me so far in my trip experience because their was a language barrier separating me from talking to the other students fluently. The Tico students and I had some things in common like playing soccer, hanging out with friends and working in the community. The one thing that I think the foreign students liked was receiving the american candy (Pop Rocks) I handed out to them.

After visiting the school we headed back to our hotel via the public bus system where we had a brief group meeting and then had dinner that consisted of noodles and ground meat and a small salad. This dinner was interesting as I thought all of the meals were going to come with rice but this meal didn't.

Tonight we are going out to learn to Salsa dance to prepare for our party friday night with our new student friends from Costa Rica.

A Trip In the Rain

By Rob Matchett (Student)
Edited by Mr. Moreland

Today was our first real outting as a group. We started things off with breakfast, then headed out to Dos Pinos Dairy Plant. We met officials there and talked about the production of their dairy products. When we actually got into the plant we met Lula, the Dos Pinos mascot.  She was entertaining both children and our group. During the visit, she started breakdancing and she challenged one of the students, Seth, to a dance off. It was really cool to hear about the different production processes. The tour ended by getting stuffed Lula Dolls and free ice cream. After that we transfered our US dollars to the currency down here which is so cool because it has hammerhead sharks on it.

Unfortunately when we were leaving for our pen pals school it poured down rain.  While we were walking, getting soaked, I began wish that a tour bus would come and pick us up. Anyhow, the experience of meeting the High School Students was great. They gave us food and drinks and we interviewed one of their teachers Ms. Mellisa Gonzalez. When we came back to the hotel it stopped raining which is good. We are heading to salsa dancing lessons so we can dance at a Friday social event with the high school students.

Excitement & Fear

Written by: Bethany Daffern Student

One of the main things that I'm excited for is going into the rain forest and actually getting the chance to zip line through it! It's something that is going to be different, exciting, and actually an adventure for some. Another thing that I'm excited for is meeting the high school students on Day 2 which some of us have had a chance to talk to. We'll all be able to meet kids our age and be able to talk to them and learn about them and what they do in school, and see how it differs from the education that we got.


The things that I'm nervous about is once we meet the high school kids its going to be more difficult to talk to them, seeing as though most of them mainly speak Spanish even though they are learning English in their school. It's going to be hard when we go anywhere because we're going to have to know some kind of Spanish to make it through our time in Costa Rica knowing either little to no Spanish and adjust. Another thing that I'm afraid of are the spiders and snakes. I am someone who doesn't like snakes at all. If i see one I'll move cautiously out of the way and in the opposite direction to not direct the attention of the snake.